


the way you make me feel

by theredhoodie



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, First Kiss, Sharing a Bed, Waffles, post 7x07, s7 compliant, the start of something new
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:33:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25249225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theredhoodie/pseuds/theredhoodie
Summary: A late-night mission in '83 leaves Daisy a little worse for wear and she does an impulsive thing: she kisses Daniel Sousa.
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 35
Kudos: 252





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based off a dream I had where Daniel & Daisy and 2 anonymous people take down a bunch of Hydra agents and then go to a diner where Daisy cuddles in his lap and....yeah I decided to say fuck it and write it.
> 
> Would obviously take place after 7x07 after they get Mac and Deke back and will definitely be AU once 7x08 airs lol
> 
> Please AOS gods, let them become a thing!
> 
> Thanks Miranda for the beta read!

* * *

The ‘80s. Of course. If Daisy wasn’t worried about Sibyl and her Chronicoms completely ruining the world she’d worked so hard to save, she would have been ecstatic to be in the decade. It was all big-hair bands, sexual revolution, and the birth of some of the greatest music and fashion styles in history.

She knew better than to let her guard down this time.

It was a few years before she’d be born, but she felt oddly  _ connected _ to this time.

Daniel Sousa, however, was getting even deeper into a future that was looking more and more unrecognizable. She felt bad for him, and she  _ had _ been confused when she awoke from the pod and he was still there.

He was  _ staying _ and while he didn’t say it in so many words, he was staying for her and she wasn’t sure what to do with that knowledge. It was nice to be wanted, to be protected, even though she could protect herself.

She held her tongue when he finally was forced to change out of his suit, not wanting to quip too much and annoy him. He was wearing a wrinkled blue button down with a collar reminiscent of the late 70’s and a wool jacket and, while he couldn’t be convinced to wear jeans, he was wearing relaxed slacks and far duller shoes than his pair from ‘55. 

He looked almost vulnerable without all his layers.

Daisy ate up the style, pulling on pastel pink pants, a bold geometric-shape patterned sweatshirt, and a tank top underneath. She had on white sneakers and pulled part of her extremely frizzy hair back in a clip. Honestly, it wasn’t far from the modern style of her home-era. It was fun and comfortable.

Which was good because they ended up in a fight.

It was nothing they couldn’t handle, especially with the backup of two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who joined them. Hydra agents weren’t expecting them. Sousa’s cane worked as a pretty handy bludgeoning weapon. Daisy, a little scared to try her powers after whatever Nathaniel Malik did to her, only quaked at the last minute, letting out a relieved gasp as her powers worked perfectly, giving her the feeling of completeness.

In the stillness after the fight, she had a trickle of blood running down her chin which she wiped away. The warehouse was filled with crates that needed to be inspected, and a dozen Hydra guards were sprawled on the ground.

Daisy’s head was spinning, the air filled with the swirling of dust from the fight.

“Come here,” one of the agents _ — _ she had neglected to catch their names enough for them to stick _ — _ said to the other and, within a blink, they were making out right there amid broken bodies.

Daisy’s surprise _ — _ mixed with the weird deja vu she got from it all, her mind superimposing Bobbi and Lance on the scene _ — _ and the sudden rush to her head sent her stumbling back. She was saved from falling on her ass by Sousa, who caught her, hands tightening around her arms as she slipped a little and twisted.

“You okay?” he asked, carefully avoiding looking at the make-out sesh by looking at her face instead.

She blinked. Did she get a concussion or something? Or was this just her body adjusting to her powers after being iced back in ‘76? “Yeah,” she breathed out. 

Their faces were really close and she wasn’t moving and neither was he. Daisy was not...she didn’t do the butterflies and heart eyes. Her heart was hardened after Lincoln, and it _ — _ she _ — _ had never fully recovered but something _ — _ _ something _ was here.

If this went badly, she could blame a concussion.

She leaned up and kissed him. It was barely a kiss really, but their lips touched and he didn’t respond but he didn’t drop her either. Half a second is all she gave it before she got her feet under her and stood, gently pushing him away so she could survey the damage.

Her vision steadied even if her heart beat wildly like she was a schoolgirl again. She hadn’t felt this excitable in a long time. And she blamed the other agents, who had finally finished sucking each other’s faces and were prying open crates to see what they were dealing with.

Daisy pulled the glasses out of her pocket _ — _ remarkably unbroken despite the fight _ — _ and put them on, tapping the side and giving a live feed back to the Zephyr. After a bit of snooping, Simmons had everything they needed.

“What now?” Sousa asked, as the four of them convened at the entrance. Daisy felt her cheeks flush but she didn’t say anything. He addressed the other agents in the question, “Weis? Burgen? Daisy?”

He used her first name and she lurched forward. “I don’t care but I want to get out of here,” she said, stepping through the ajar warehouse doors.

“I think pancakes,” Weis replied, slinging his arm around the shorter Agent Burgen’s shoulders. They were wearing more punk clothes: denim jackets, Burgen’s with some patches, high waisted jeans, and chunky boots. Granted, this  _ was _ their natural timeline. Daisy really should have gone the leather jacket route.

“We know a place,” Burgen offered as they walked to the car they’d taken here. She slipped behind the wheel and Weis got in after.

Daisy reached for the back door but Sousa beat her to it, reaching not for the handle but her hand.

“Daisy,” he said again.

He cupped her hand, turning it over and looking at the scar across her palm. The pod did wonders for healing but she hadn’t stayed in it long enough to come out scarless from her ordeal in ‘76.

“Hey,” she said, squeezing her hand into a fist. “I’m sorry about...I didn’t mean…”

“Oh.” His eyes flickered from her hand to her face. He was  _ not _ keeping that respectable 1950’s distance from her which she was kind of happy about. She was actually feeling a little woozy from the fight, which was a saving grace. Otherwise she may roll out some horribly inappropriate flirting. “Are you sure?”

She blinked. Once, twice,  _ okay _ . The history books didn’t exactly keep track of personal relationships between secret agents and she wondered how long it had been since he and Peggy Carter split and how long he’d been on his own. Maybe...maybe she wasn’t delusional. “I mean...ahem, I mean, you’re very...you’re very you.”  _ Great _ .

He furrowed his brow, the weight and heat of his fingers still clasping around her wrist. 

“I mean. God, I really think I did get a concussion.” She put her free hand to her head. “I just, I don’t know what...you’re comfortable with. Because. You’re. You know.”

“Old fashioned?” he offered, his expression softening into concern.

She snorted softly. “I wasn’t gonna say it.” She flashed him a smile.

He contemplated for a few seconds before he spoke again, his eyes trained on hers. He was  _ not _ shy of eye contact, this one. “I appreciate your consideration and I’ll try not to take offense to it _ — _ ”

She muttered something but he continued on.

“Because I know that I am far out of my depth here. Time travel, everything evolving very quickly around me. It’s hard to keep up.”

Daisy nodded. It wasn’t like she didn’t know this. She’d been in his shoes before, when they traveled to the end of the world and beyond. Everything was so different and she made mistakes because she didn’t know or understand what was going on.

“But you...you and your team saved my life. Changed it detrimentally but I’d rather be alive than part of the history books.”

“To be fair, you’re still part of history books,” she pointed out and jumped a little when Burgen beeped the horn.

“I’m just trying to say that I-I respect you and I did not hate that you kissed me. I was just surprised.”

She swallowed. So much for sweeping the kiss under the rug. “Yeah, I probably should have asked first.”

“I don’t mean to sound sentimental, but I appreciate you letting me...be your partner.”

“Oh.” Was that what they were? “I mean, we don’t really do partners in the field, but I’m glad you’re with me too. I mean, you have saved my life before.” 

Burgen honked again, the sharp sound making Daisy wince. She closed her eyes and hissed. Sousa’s hand slid along her jaw, inspecting...damage? She was sure she had a few bruises. Her eyes opened slowly.

“We should get you checked out,” he said, voice low.

“I’m tough. I can take it,” she said defiantly.

Weis rolled down the window. “We getting pancakes, or what?”

“Yes,” Daisy replied, turning a little to shoot him a small glare. He stuck his head back into the car as Daisy turned back around.

Before she realized what was happening, Daniel Sousa was kissing her. It was a proper kiss this time, his hand resting on her neck, the other letting go of her hand and settling at her waist. Daisy gripped his lapels and pulled him a little closer, light headed and dizzy and she was pretty sure that was only partly due to potential head wounds.

They broke apart when Daisy shuffled back and softly hit the car.

She opened her eyes slowly and found him giving her a soft smile, thumb stroking her jaw and then he took a respectable step backward. 

“I guess that clears things up,” she said, thankful for the car to keep her upright.

“I think so,” he replied, helping her with the door.

“ _ Finally _ ,” Burgen said, hitting the gas before Daniel even got the door closed.

Daisy felt dizzy and shut her eyes, taking in a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” Daniel touched her shoulder.

“Food will help,” Weis said as the car took a sharp turn. 

Daisy kept herself steady with one hand on the seat back in front of her and one on the door. 

“Maybe we should take you back to the...plane,” Daniel told her. He brushed her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.

“I’m okay.” She took a few deep breaths and was thankful for when the car stopped. Opening her eyes, she laughed when she saw a familiar yellow sign. “Waffle House? I thought you said pancakes.”

“This was closer,” Burgen said, getting out of the car.

“I can’t believe you’re gonna make Sousa eat Waffle House,” she muttered, getting out of the car. She felt better with solid ground underfoot and clear air. 

“Is there something wrong with it?” he asked, stepping up beside her. One of his hands hovered by her lower back, barely touching, but she could tell. 

“Um...I mean, it’s fine. It has great waffles, hence the name.” They followed Weis and Burgen inside. It looked just like any other Waffle House, with the same bright lighting and yellow and red interior. There were a handful of other people inside, a group of five in a booth, a few people at the counter.

“Ahhhh,” Weis let out a satisfied sound as he slid into the booth, Burgen following. She leaned over a menu as Daniel got in next, tucking his cane between his knee and the wall. Daisy nearly collapsed into the seat.

“Caffeine please,” she mumbled, rubbing her temples.

“You really took a beating,” Burgen observed, though her voice was gentle with concern.

Daisy groaned. “I’m used to it.”

The two local agents shared a look and then the waitress came over to grab their order. She snapped gum and looked like she would rather be anywhere else.

“Coffee?” she asked, holding a pot.

“Yes,” Daisy croaked as she turned over the mug on the table in front of her spot. Weis also took some, but Burgen and Daniel declined. 

“Two waffles, hash and four eggs scrambled for us,” Burgen ordered for her and her boothmate.

Daisy dumped a little cup of cream into her coffee. “Waffle and bacon please,” she said, not even bothering to look at the menu.

The waitress turned to Daniel, who was looking at the meager menu that also doubled as a placemat. 

“Just pick a waffle and whatever sides you want,” Daisy prompted, stirring her mug and pouring in sugar.

“Right.” He cleared his throat, looked one last time and ordered a waffle and bacon like Daisy.

Daisy sipped her coffee and glanced over at him. “Did you panic?”

“What?”

“You ordered what I ordered. Did you panic?”

“No. I’m sure you know, the menu isn’t exactly extensive.”

She grinned a little and sipped. The coffee was shitty, but she’d had worse. The four of them talked a little about the bust, skirting around certain words so they didn’t draw attention from the other diners.

It took five minutes for the food to come out and Daisy really hoped that the food would help. She drowned her waffle in syrup and the sugar was enough to give her a jolt of energy. It also, for some reason, made her hyper aware of the pain from countless punches and kicks from the fight. She felt like a map of bruises.

The plates were cleared quickly and they stayed, sipping coffee, waiting to hear back from the Zephyr, from Simmons or Coulson. Daisy’s eyes started to get heavy and before she knew it, she was in Daniel’s lap. It wasn’t the first time  _ — _ and she hoped not the last _ — _ but she couldn’t quite remember how she got there, back wedged between him and the wall, her legs resting against the bench.

He didn’t protest, and probably helped her crawl there. She sighed and tucked her head against his collarbone and closed her eyes. If she had a concussion she should stay awake until Simmons could get a look at her, but she was so comfortable and warm and it had been a long time since she’d felt like she could just breathe and not have to save the world. Even if it was only for a few minutes.

By the time the call came in, Daisy was half asleep, Weis was curled up on the bench feet sticking off the end and his head on Burgen’s lap, and Daniel was the only one who looked remotely awake.

The call was only a small ping on the device on Daisy’s wrist that looked like a watch but wasn’t. It had a small screen where a series of words began to roll across. “Ugh,” Daisy groaned, nuzzling against his neck and holding her arm as far away as possible. “Five more minutes.”

He laughed a little, taking her wrist and reading the screen. He still didn’t understand practically any of the technology of the future, but he could read words and follow them. An order was an order, after all.

“We should be getting back,” he said, even though he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying the quiet moment here.

Daisy sighed and left a feather light kiss against his throat before she climbed off of him and blinked rapidly, rubbing her eyes to wake up. “Okay, okay. Hopefully we’re going to be here long enough for me to get some actual sleep. I don’t think I’ve rested since ‘31.”

Burgen and Weis didn’t ask questions and they all got to their feet. Weis threw down money and they left, walking toward one of the few cars in the parking lot.

“Daniel,” Daisy said, reaching out for him this time, halfway to the car.

He turned and waited. She pressed her hand against his chest. It was kind of crazy that he was even here, for sure _ — _ she thought Deke was a strange cat to bring out of his respective timestream, but Daniel Sousa was even stranger only because she knew him from the SHIELD archives. It was really weird. 

“This is okay,” she half-said, half-asked.

He searched her face. “Yes.”

“It’s just...I’ve lost people too,” she frowned. “And I know you...you don’t want to go to the future. I understand, but I’ll end up there eventually.”

“I didn’t stay back in the seventies.” He once again brushed some of her unruly hair away from her face. “I was going to, but…”

Daisy swallowed. So yeah, maybe they weren’t in this enough for big confessions or anything, it wasn’t like they’d known each other for very long, but the thing about fighting alongside someone...it created bonds that were hard to break. And he was  _ normal _ , he was human, no strings attached. Besides the whole thing about him being born in 1918, of course, but she could look past that.

“Right.” Daisy smoothed out his collar and gave him a smile. “You decided to stay. Was it because of me, or is that just me having a big head? And/or a head injury?” She tilted her head to the side slowly.

He half smiled. “You are a part of it,” he confessed. “And SHIELD...knowing it’s in jeopardy, knowing that I was saved and I shouldn’t just sit around waiting to die in some time that’s not mine.” He shook his head. “I’d rather be here.”

Daisy shrugged. “I’ll take it.” She leaned up and kissed him gently and then settled back on her heels. “Let’s go save the world. Again, again, again.”

“After Simmons looks at you,” he pointed out as she got into the backseat of the car.

She smiled a little at his concern. “If it’ll make you feel better,” she said, strapping herself in and then taking his hand. Their hands were rough and calloused from years of work. He gave her a soft look in the dark cab of the car and she laced their fingers together. She could get used to this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week after Waffle House, Daisy and Daniel end up in bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided to write a little sequel since the show stated they stay in 1983 for 27 days (or at least have the possibility of that) which leaves a lot of time for Daisy and Daniel to get to know each other. I tried to tie it into 7x08 with the ending! 
> 
> I wanted to get this posted before 7x08 actually aired. 
> 
> This is totally self indulgent. I hope you like it anyway!

It was rare that they had a moment to sleep, but for some reason, Sibyl was hunkering down in 1983 and so they were able to breathe, to regroup, to figure their shit out.

It also meant that the team continued to scatter further across the country, using various SHIELD outlets and safehouses, in the fight against the Chornicoms.

Daisy and Daniel were still working with Weis and Burgen, and it had been a week since their bust at the Hydra warehouse. And waffles. And kissing.

Daisy was expecting the world to end again and she didn’t want to see that without...without...something. Without someone.

She gave Daniel a crash course in modern dating and he was delightfully surprised but willing to go with it. Daisy didn’t want to wait. She touched him as much as she could, reminding herself that he was a real thing, he wouldn’t disappear once they stopped the Chronicoms. And she kissed him often, as if they’d been doing it for a long time.

He was a pretty great kisser, even if he was hesitant. She didn’t know why, since he was so confident when it came to his work, but she always reminded herself of their default timelines and how this whole thing was a lot for him.

She couldn’t be selfish about this. It wasn’t really in her, and she backed off a little.

That is, until it was just Weis and Burgen and her and Daniel in a safehouse that was an actual house. The other two agents got themselves settled downstairs with beers and cuddling on the couch and left the two bedrooms upstairs for Daniel and Daisy.

Daisy showered off two days of sweat and grime and pulled on fresh clothes, finding an unopened bag of Fruit of the Loom underwear and a big t-shirt in the closet. She also found a robe that came down to her knees which she pulled on against the chill and then she combed and braided her hair back out of her face.

With a deep breath, she left her room and stood at the door opposite. The paint was peeling a little, but it was still nicer than a lot of safehouses which were usually no more than a shack or a concrete bunker. At least this place had wooden walls that breathed and floors that creaked. 

She knocked softly on the door and heard Daniel moving around inside. “Can I come in?” she asked, raising her voice just a little.

“Hang on,” came his reply.

Daisy pursed her lips and glanced around the hallway. The stairs were to the right and there was the bathroom between the two rooms. She then realized that she had grabbed the shower first and felt kind of bad.

The door opened and Daniel leaned against the doorframe. “Hi,” he said, a little out of breath.

“What were you doing in there?” she mused, peeking around his shoulder. 

“Nothing,” he said, a little sharply and then let out a long breath. “I’m sorry, it’s been a strange day.” 

“Welcome to the club. This SHIELD is a far cry from what you’re used to.” She crossed her arms. “I just wanted to let you know that the bathroom’s free. If you needed it.”

That is not at all what she wanted to tell him but it worked.

“Thanks. I washed up already.”

“When?”

“When you were shoving the last piece of pizza in your mouth downstairs,” he said with a little smirk of amusement.

She scoffed and pushed nonexistent hairs out of her face. “I’m regaining my strength after my injuries,” she lied. She just really loved pizza.

“I like a woman who can eat,” he said and immediately regretted his word choice.

“Oh?” Daisy laughed. “Then you found a perfect one. I love food.”

“Mmmm.” He nodded, embarrassment flushing his features ever so slightly.

“Can I come in?” she asked again, gently this time. “I promise to be completely and totally appropriate.”

He rolled his eyes this time and moved to the side so she could step in. The two bedrooms were mostly bare except for linens and clothes. He had lucked out and found a pair of sleeping pants and a white t-shirt. “Did you want to talk?” he asked, limping a few steps away to the bed and sitting on the end.

“Definitely,” she said, joining him. She lay back and sighed. “So nice. The little cubes we have to sleep in on the Zephyr are tiny. It’s hard for even one person to sleep in there.”

“I’ve done most of my sleeping sitting up,” he said, laying down next to her, folding his hands over his chest. “Don’t know the last time I saw a real bed.”

“It’s been forever,” Daisy said, wiggling around and enjoying the mattress even though it was a spring one and would definitely end up pokey through the night. Not that she planned on sleeping on this bed. She had her own room. “Daniel…”

He turned his head toward her and found her looking at him. “Yeah?”

They’d done a lot of talking ever since she got out of the pod. About him staying, about Nathaniel Malik, about her powers. He’d been taken aback by her story of breaking her bones over and over until Jemma made her gauntlets to help and it took a lot for him to understand that this was a part of her. It sucked, but it was okay. She heard his stories from the war, from Europe to New York City, and didn't ask when he skillfully avoided talking about Peggy. And since the warehouse, they talked about...them. About how it was nice to have someone. About how it was hard to have someone too, especially someone who could put themselves in danger so easily. 

But there was a lot of ground, a lot of life, to cover still. And Daisy wasn’t sure how much time they would have.

She let her right arm fall toward him and brushed his face with the back of her hand and fingers. “How are you doing?” she asked, a little frown furrowing her brow.

Underneath the guard against the time travel, the exterior put on, he was a pretty sweet guy. She liked that. He ran his fingertips gently over her wrist. “If this chase ever stops, I think I’d appreciate a vacation. And I don’t do holidays.”

She smiled a little. “Anywhere but Tahiti,” she mused and then shook her head at his confused expression. “Nevermind.” Twisting her shoulders, she propped herself up on one elbow to look down on him. “I know I said I’d be appropriate but I’m, like, dying to kiss you.”

He laughed and brought one hand to her face, coaxing her down. She smiled into the kiss and scooted closer, resting her hand on his face, then trailing down his neck, his chest. His hand cupped her face and slid his other hand around her waist, bumping over the clunky tie of the robe.

She curled her hand around his neck and pulled herself closer, bending her knee and pulling her leg onto the bed, over his right leg and--

He jumped a little and stiffened and she pulled back. “Oh shit, I’m sorry.” She took her leg back and started to scoot away but his hand around her middle stopped her.

“It’s okay,” he furrowed his brows. “It’s always just...a surprise. It’s been a long time since…”

She smoothed her hand down his shirt, resting her hand over his heart. “I’m still sorry. We usually don’t do this horizontally.” She bit her bottom lip.

“Daisy,” he called her attention back to him and she blinked into the present. “It’s kind of a sensitive topic for me. I don’t go around advertising it but it’s easy to notice.”

She shook her head. “I don’t...is it okay if I say I don’t care? It doesn’t change anything for me. And once again I just went ahead and did my thing without talking to you about it first.”

“If you’d talked about kissing me before you did, I’m not sure it would have happened.”

“Okay, so that time it worked out.” She pouted. “I didn’t mean to make you jump. Or make you uncomfortable.”

“Thanks,” he said softly, rubbing some of her loose hairs between his fingers. Her hair had lost all its 80’s frizz and was back to being relatively smooth and silky. “To be honest with you--”

“Please do,” she interrupted.

“It bothers me. Not that it happened, or that I’m stuck with half a leg for the rest of my life, but just how people end up treating me about it. Your team didn’t blink. They see me as some kind of hero from their history books, but no one ever told me to stay behind because of my leg. It was a nicer welcome than I usually get with new agents.”

“We’re pretty accepting,” Daisy said, running her fingertips around in nonsense shapes. “We’ve all been through a lot. And not...not that it’s a competition but Coulson, the real Coulson, lost his hand. And Yoyo, she lost both her arms.”

“But she…” He frowned deeply.

“Future tech,” she said almost sadly, meeting his gaze. “Jemma was able to create new prosthetics that are almost as good as the real thing.”

“Oh.” He said it small, like he did everything technology based. He rubbed his thumb over her waist over and over, eyes sliding to the ceiling.

Daisy sighed and slid her hand to his face. “I ruined a good thing we had here,” she said with a little pout.

“You didn’t.”

“I did. We were supposed to just kiss and then I’d wrench myself away after a while to leave you decent and yet here we are.”

“You don’t have to worry about leaving me decent,” he mused with a hint of seriousness under his words.

“Can I?” She glanced down at his legs, hanging over the edge of the bed.

He nodded and she pressed her shin against his right thigh, warm and solid through his pants. She leaned down and kissed him, coaxing a small noise from the back of his throat. 

She smiled and pulled back. “You know, I’m gonna get a crick in my neck from leaning like this.”

“Then you should move,” he said, his voice a low octave, his eyes darkened a little.

Without any more prompting, she got to her knees and straddled him, one knee sinking just at the edge of the mattress, but not enough for her to slip. She kept her knees high, by his waist, and leaned down, taking his face in her hands and kissing him, teasing his mouth open with her tongue.

“You can touch me,” she said gently, breaking the kiss and letting their noses touch. 

His hovering hands descended on her thighs, touching her bare skin. He closed his eyes and took a breath. “You smell nice,” he said, voice a little thin.

“I smell like Dove soap and one dollar shampoo,” she mused, putting one hand down by his head to steady herself.

He cracked his eyes open. “It’s nice.”

She smiled and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Beats barn hay and blood, doesn’t it?”

Daniel slid his hands up her thighs and under her robe in what she desperately wanted to comment was quite scandalous. His hands were solid and firm and she went back to kissing him instead.

She rocked forward, and his hand tangled in her hair, pulling it out of the braid so it fell around her face, into _his_ face. He didn’t seem to care, gripping her hip with one hand and pulling her in for hard, deep kisses with the other.

Her free hand fisted around his shirt and she finally had to break for air, pushing back from him and propping up on her knees. “You could--” she paused to suck in a deep breath, her heart hammering in her chest. “You could get a new aged prosthetic.”

Daniel frowned, trying to hide the fact that he was panting while he was still gripping her hip. His other hand fell to her leg, circling around the back of her knee. “What?”

“Your leg. You could get something that’s more comfortable,” she said. Honestly she was trying desperately to defuse the heat in the room, and while it wasn’t exactly thinking about grandma’s or baseball, it had already dampened the mood once, perhaps it could again.

The last thing she wanted to do was scare Daniel off by forcing her twenty-first century sexual desires on him. Not that he didn’t have desires of his own--she could tell by the look in his eyes and the way he kissed her and his hands gripping her even now--but he was _old fashioned_ and hell, even Daisy wasn’t sure she was ready for that step yet.

“Would I have to?” he asked, frowning.

She shook her head, pressing her palms against his chest. “No, of course not. But I can tell sometimes that it’s...it’s not painless. It could be. You deserve it, after everything you’ve done.”

He stroked her skin with his thumbs. It was tantalizing. “You think so?”

“I’m not just saying this because...well because we’re making out and I want to give you special treatment. You’re a SHIELD agent, you’re able to have access to all the tech we can offer.”

“Tech? So I’d be what, part robot?”

She was thankful there was a hint of teasing in his voice. “No, not like that. It’s just, I want you to be comfortable, that’s all. So I’m offering. You don’t have to accept it.”

With that, she climbed off him, returning to his side, though this time she kept her leg over his. His hand followed, staying hooked around her bent knee. His other arm went around her shoulders and she cuddled against his side, throwing one arm across his chest. 

“I’ve been through a lot,” she said after a beat. “I can use my powers occasionally without protection, but otherwise it would hurt me just as much as Malik. There’s no shame in taking on something that will help you.”

“I know.”

“I’m going to shut up now before I make it worse, but yeah. It’s there, if you want it.”

He squeezed her shoulder. “You know what I want right now?”

Her mind flickered through a number of things. “I’d say pizza, but I know that’s wrong.”

“I’d really like some sleep.”

“Ouch.” She pinched his side gently. “Is that your way of getting rid of me?”

“You could stay. The bed’s big enough.”

Daisy raised her eyebrows. “Whoa, big words, old timer.” She once again propped herself up on her elbow, resting her head on her shoulder. “I think I’ll take my own bed tonight.”

He looked a little relieved, and she took a moment to run her fingertips across his face, taking him in. “How much can you feel?” he asked suddenly. “I mean with your...vibrations. Can you feel people too?”

“Um...it doesn’t work like that. It’s more seismic. But I can tell when there’s someone in a room that I’m quaking. So no, I can’t feel you from across the hall, though that’d be kinda cool.”

He nodded as if he understood even though he looked confused. Daisy kissed him softly and then got to her feet, tugging down the robe and turning back to him. He sat up almost expectantly on the corner of the bed. 

“Goodnight, Daniel,” she said, liking the taste of his first name on her tongue. He was Sousa before the kiss...but now? Daniel suited her just fine.

“Goodnight, Daisy.” He barely reached toward her, stopping himself, but she saw and walked closer. She planted her bare feet on the wooden floor and reached for his shoulder. Instead of a kiss, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, hugging her middle. 

“I’ll think about it,” he said after a minute, all the while Daisy ran her hands through his hair.

“Okay,” she said, not wanting to keep running her mouth and making things worse by guilting him into something he didn’t want or wasn’t ready for. 

When they finally parted, she left his room, closing the door behind her and padding over to her room. She left the door ajar, pulled off her robe and crawled into the bed. Almost immediately it was pokey, and she almost went and took Daniel up on his offer to share a bed, but instead, she rolled around until she found a spot that was comfortable.

She was roused from sleep a few hours later by her watch beeping. Frowning into the darkness, it took a few seconds for the word in green to make sense:

**Jiayang.**

Daisy’s stomach lurched and she planted her feet on the floor. She hadn’t even thought...she never imagined that she would ever get this chance; it wasn’t as if she was dying to meet her mother, and while the timeline matched up, she wasn’t sure she was ready for it. It wasn’t like their last meeting went all that great.

But it must be important.

Knowing she wasn’t going to be able to sleep, she crept across the hall. She knocked lightly on Daniel’s door before she twisted the handle and stepped in. The floor creaked loudly underfoot and she heard him startle awake.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

“Daisy?” Her night vision let her see his face, sleepy and concerned, his hair stuck up on one side. 

“I...I know you weren’t serious about the bed thing but I just got news about our next mission,” she said, walking over to the bed. He scooted to the right, making space for her. She sat, hunched over, wrapping her arms around herself.

“What, what is it?” his hand came to rest lightly on her back.

She took a shuddering breath. “Jiayang. My mother.” She didn’t, couldn’t say anything else. “Can I just…?”

He scooted even more to the right, leaving half the bed open for her, and pulled back the covers. She slipped into the warmth he’d left and curled against his side. He put his arms around her and held onto her until she relaxed.

She didn’t think she’d be able to sleep, but she didn’t stop him from succumbing, though they stayed close and she focused on his breathing and his warmth and his heartbeat, drowning out everything else.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once they get picked up, Daisy takes a breather in her bunk on the Zephyr and Daniel joins her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back at it again with more of this cute AU lol this is pure self indulgence at this point

Waiting for a time jump sucked. The uncertainty of it changing last minute, not knowing where they were going...it all sucked. The Zephyr was quiet now, everyone sent to rest up. Daisy sat at the end of her bed in her tiny cube room, phone in hand. After almost three weeks in 1983 — the Zephyr decided to jump earlier than 27 days — Daisy was content to mess around with a stupid game on her phone and try to relax.

A lot had happened in ‘83, and the last mission...she’d stayed on the plane even though she was painfully intrigued about meeting her mother before she turned into a murderer...with personal experience, Daisy could see how torture at the hands of evil men could turn someone so dark.

Daisy had gone dark before. She didn’t want to replay that area of her past.

A knock on the side of her cube-room startled her. It was just Daniel, looking a little hesitant, filling the space with his broad shoulders.

“Hey,” she said, setting her phone aside.

“Hey,” he echoed.

“How soon is the next jump?” she asked.

“Thirty-two minutes when I last checked.”

She nodded and then motioned toward him. “You can come in. I know there’s not much room but I won’t bite.” She grinned at him and he sighed but relaxed, squeezing into the space and sitting next to her.

“What, um, what were you doing with that?” He eyed the phone on her lap.

She lifted it and shook it around. “Playing mindless app games.” Before he could say anything, she continued, “You have no idea what that means.” She rubbed her tired face with a hand and then opened her screen. “Do you like music?”

“Sure,” he said quickly and then frowned. “Don’t tell me. Somehow there’s music in that thing.”

Daisy closed some apps and then opened her music player. “Luckily I have some on my phone since we can’t exactly stream anything.” She shook her head before he asked and scooted back on the bed. “Come on,” she urged.

With a sigh of...resignation? self-control? discomfort? he followed and soon they were wedged together on her tiny bed, barely fitting so she had to rest back against his chest and he slipped an arm around her back, hand resting on her hip.

“Okay so I feel like scaring you a little bit,” she said with a little snicker, flicking through her screen.

“Lay it on me,” he said with acceptance.

“If I were a good — ” she paused, swallowing the word  _ girlfriend _ , “If I were nice I’d start closer to the fifties and work my way to the present but what would you say to the opposite?”

“I may as well dive right in.”

She nodded, pressing play. She still went a little easy on him, playing  _ Anything Can Happen _ by Ellie Goulding. It wasn’t rave music or dubstep, which she wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle. The music filled the small room.

Daniel listened quietly and Daisy was almost disappointed she couldn’t see his face, but she was absurdly comfortable cuddled next to him so she would accept it. “So…” she said, as the song got to the half-way point.

“This...it’s definitely music,” he said, unconvincingly. “I think.”

She laughed. “It is. It’s not even the worst I could have started you with.” She scrolled some more, thinking, as the song continued to play out, blasting out the second chorus. “Do cars even have radios in 1955?”

“They do. Did?” He mumbled something she couldn’t make out as she hit play. 

Like everyone else in the universe, she had gotten into Hozier when his first album dropped even though it wasn’t really her kind of music. But it wasn’t bad. She chose a more upbeat song,  _ Jackie and Wilson _ . It had the occasional percussion beat and guitar rift.

“You can’t dance to this,” Daniel said after being quiet for a while.

Daisy snorted. “Yes you can. You can dance to anything.” She fumbled with her phone and changed to  _ Someone New _ . 

“ _ You _ can dance to this?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Sure.”

“It’s so...croony.”

“Yeah, a little.” She scrolled again, trying to pick something truly startling. “This is stuff for just relaxing. We do have dance music.”

“Oh, you do?” He shifted a little and her with him. Her shirt tugged up a little and his thumb pressed against her skin. He didn’t move and Daisy tried not to grin like a maniac because he was still being  _ respectful _ around her, even after the safehouse two nights ago, and she didn’t want to push anything.

“Oh, this one.” She clicked, cutting off the end of Hozier’s song. “It’s a classic.”

Jason Derulo’s  _ Want to Want Me _ blasted out of her phone. It was not even the worst pop/dance song she could have chosen, but compared to whatever was going on in 1955, it was probably the most obscure thing he’d ever heard.

She twisted a little just to see his face. He was kind of slack jawed, brows furrowed. 

“You call that music?” he said finally.

“Yup,” she said cheerfully, settling back against him. “Just be glad I didn’t play  _ Anaconda _ . Honestly, I don’t even remember downloading that,” she added with a mutter. Shaking her head, she pursed her lips and let the song play out. “Okay, how about we move onto the nineties. That was a good decade.”

“Think we’ll get there?”

“Dunno. Depends on where the next jump takes us. From what Yoyo and May said…” She sighed. She didn’t want to think about the next step in the mission until they’d jumped again. “Here. Another song to dance to. It’s R&B, which is a um...it’s a specific type of music.” She smashed her finger down on TLC’s  _ No Scrubs _ , which she remembered playing pretty frequently in her van. 

That felt like a whole other lifetime.

“I have no idea what any of these words are,” Daniel said after a few lines.

Daisy could tell that he was trying, which made her happy at least. At this point, she was basically just pestering him. “It grows on you,” she insisted, lifting the phone up to face level and scrolling. 

“You really listen to this stuff?”

“Yep. Anything from like the seventies on is pretty much fair game and anyone of my generation knows probably way too much music, honestly. I think half of my brain is lyrics.”

“Huh.”

“Nirvana and the Spice Girls are classic nineties music but let’s move on.” She clicked on  _ Fast Cars _ by Tracy Chapman. “Some late eighties, but I think it didn’t really get big until the nineties.”

They listened quietly as the song started. Daisy was feeling restless now, walking down old memories, remembering times in her life tied to a lot of the songs she was scrolling by and listening to. She was never lacking in music growing up. She used livewire like mad, fixed broken mp3 players and went through numerous walkmans before that. Afterward, she illegally downloaded enough music to end up in prison, but she’d ended up with Rising Tide and then S.H.I.E.L.D. instead.

“Nice voice,” Daniel said, breaking her out of her thoughts.

“Mhm,” Daisy said, clutching her phone and trying not to lean and dig her elbow into his leg. The song played almost to the end and she chose a Fleetwood Mac song. She had a handful of them, but chose at random. The classic sounding opening of  _ Don’t Stop  _ started with late seventies’ sparkle sounds, percussion and some guitar. “You may like this. Maybe. I...I don’t really know.”

“I don’t hate it.”

She liked that he was honest with her. She didn’t have the time, patience or emotional capacity to deal with lying and mental mindfields. “They have slower songs. All of their lyrics are really powerful. Like this.” She changed to  _ Landslide _ , which made her feel sad as fuck, but she was relaxed so it was fine.

She didn’t say anything, not moving to choose another song, letting it play out. The lyrics, the soft guitar...it poured itself into her ribs and soothed her down to a dull ache. But it was a good kind of ache. She wanted to ask Daniel if music hit him hard too, but enjoyed laying there with her eyes closed, feeling his heart beating through her back, his hand warm and firm on her hip. 

He nudged her just a little as the song ended and she sucked in a breath and rubbed her nose. “Ahem...so what did you think?”

“Not bad.”

She twisted to see his face and saw a small smile on his face. “Good. I um...I got too comfortable so time for the most classic song that probably exists in all of history.”

“Wow, sounds impressive.”

“It is. I don’t want to spoil it.” She scrolled, sitting up a little. “Promise to just….listen to the lyrics and don’t say anything until the end.”

“Okay.”

She pressed play on, what undoubtedly  _ was _ the greatest, most iconic song to ever have been created, Queen’s  _ Bohemian Rhapsody _ . She knew it was  _ out there _ , but she needed to play it, to wipe away Fleetwood Mac’s sadness.

She made sure the volume was up and mouthed along to ever lyric, every guitar rift, unable to keep still. The lyrics were...indecipherable, so bizarre and all over the place and she probably should have turned around to watch Daniel’s face.

They got through all six minutes of it and Daisy hit pause before the next song started. She sat up then, twisting around, curling her legs up to her chest. “So…”

“So…” His eyebrows rose. She could almost see the gears in his mind whirling. “That was...very unique.”

“It is. It was even in seventy-nine when it came out. It was a big deal,” she grinned.

He smiled back.

Without wasting a beat, she rocked forward and planted a kiss on his lips. He held her there a little longer, hand slipping around her neck before they parted.

“Thanks for humoring me.”

“You bet.”

“I’m not done yet,” she said, turning back around and settling at his side once again. “I have yet to introduce you to one of the most well known bands in history.”

“Saving the best for last, I see.”

“Only for you,” she said, and then proceeded to find what she hoped would be the best choice in The Beatles songs. There were too many to choose from and for some reason she had all of them on her phone. She started with  _ I Want To Hold Your Hand _ because she thought maybe it sounded the most like the music he was probably used to.

It had a peppy beat, good lyrics and she swapped her phone hands and wiggled her fingers where he could see. She felt him chuckle and he took her outstretched hand. She crossed her ankles and bobbed one foot to the song.

“I do like this,” Daniel said as the song came to a quick close.

The song changed to  _ I Saw Her Standing There _ .

“Ah!” Daisy squeezed his hand. “You could dance to this. Right?”

“Uh...yeah. I mean, I haven’t done a lot of dancing since Bastogne, but I probably could with the new leg Simmons made me.”

She grinned. “This is the Beatles. You missed them by a few years but now you can listen to all their music without having to wait. If you wanted.” If her room wasn’t tiny and she wasn’t so comfortable, she probably would have tugged him to his feet and danced with him but as it was, she was  _ very _ comfortable so she didn’t. 

“What? So you can dance with me?”

She nestled back against him. “I wouldn’t hate it.”

“Really?”

“What do you take me for? I can use a little down time once this is all over.”

Just then, as the lyrics changed to  _ Please Mister Postman _ , the ship shuddered as they made their next jump. Daisy shut her eyes and sighed. That meant no more drifting, no more living in her tiny bubble of music, Daniel and nothing else.

His hand moved up from her hip to her shoulder and he rubbed up and down her arm gently. She stopped the music on her phone and let them sit in silence for a few moments before her door slid loudly open.

“Daisy, are you — _ oh _ !” Jemma’s eyes widened and she hesitated in the doorway. “Um, sorry for interrupting. We — we’ve jumped. Just a few months.”

Daisy frowned. “Months?”

Without prompting, Daniel swung his legs off the bed and Daisy quickly got to her feet, letting go of his hand and then pulling her boots on. 

“Yup,” Jemma said. “Seems so.”

“Weird,” Daisy zipped up her second boot and tossed her hair back over her shoulder. She glanced at Daniel. “Ready to go back to the eighties?”

“Do I really have a choice?” But the soft touch on the small of her back reminded her of the good things that happened in the eighties thus far so she really didn’t think  _ he _ minded.

She flashed him half a smile and then followed Jemma out of the bunk, Daniel following.


End file.
